Health Care Big Issue For Plainville Bookstore Owner

BILL LEUKHARDTThe Hartford Courant

Maureen Flynn's health is OK, and she has medical insurance. But to Flynn, the owner of a used bookstore, health care is a paramount issue this election.

From her perch at the counter of her Books And Music store on East Street, Flynn hears customers' complaints about inadequate health care and the difficulty in getting medical coverage. One 45-year-old man is recovering from a stroke and can't afford the care he needs. Another customer, felled by two heart attacks, finds it nearly impossible to get insurance, she said.

"I get a lot of people in here talking about insurance. They're either underinsured or else just don't have it. There's got to be a way to get good service from health care providers without paying 50 percent of your salary. If you've got an employer who pays anything toward your health insurance, you're lucky," said Flynn, 60, who has one part-time worker in her business but can't afford to offer health insurance.

With more than 40 million Americans without health insurance, medical coverage is a huge problem, Flynn said. And she doesn't think the country's economic meltdown should stop the nation from tackling this issue.

Flynn has studied both presidential candidates' health care proposals and "isn't sure which is better. I think each candidate has to first define the problem, tell us what's wrong and then say how to fix it. We can't just put bandages on a hemorrhage."

John McCain is proposing a $2,500 tax credit for single people and $5,000 for families to encourage people to buy their own plans instead of getting coverage through an employer. Barack Obama is seeking to greatly expand coverage and to have mandatory health insurance for all children, to be financed by rescinding some of the tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000.

"We've got to tackle the big problem of getting coverage, not the small issues, like shaving some expenses so someone can save $100 on a bill," Flynn said. "We need better coverage, maybe some type of regional insurance. I don't think officials in Washington are thinking out of the box. We've got so many uninsured people in our country and a lot of them are working poor, families with two or three jobs who still can't afford coverage."

However, Flynn has decided that she's backing Obama for president.

"McCain's choice of Sarah Palin shut that door," said Flynn, a registered Democrat who says she has voted for Republicans in the past. "That made him not a contender for me. She's not a good pick for vice president. I wouldn't want her running the country."